Nicky In Wonderland
by TheMadLiddell
Summary: A side series of random "what if Nicky came to Wonderland" one-shots for my story I Don't Forget, I Choose Not To Remember. Warning: no specific order of one-shots, cursing, and random acts of violence.
1. Grey, Get The Fuck Out

Author's note: I don't own Joker/Clover/Heart/Diamond no Kuni no Alice or the amazing characters from said games/mangas/movie. Anyways, I'm thinking of making this into a series of random one-shots about what if Nicky entered Wonderland. If I do, they will mostly focus on her interacting with a Role Holder, Alice, or Amelia. So just like always, enjoy and review.

* * *

It was a typical day in Cover Tower. The servants were working. Nightmare was avoiding paperwork. Amelia was being a little imp and trying to sneak out to see Dee and Dum, failing but trying. Just a typical—

"GREY, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY KITCHEN!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, _Miss._ _Nichole_, but this kitchen technically belongs to Master Nightmare, not _you_."

Yep, it was definitely a typical day since the arrival of Nicky. None of the Role Holders knew how the woman came to Wonderland. All they know is that one day the only foreigners were Alice and Amelia then BAM! A crazy bitch showed up and threatened (more like promised) to rip off people's dicks if they didn't tell her where the hell she was. You can't really blame the woman. After all, one second she was in the city, making cakes for some whinny bitch's bachelorette party, the next she's in the woods and a giant ass whale is flying over her head.

What was an even bigger shock to all the Role Holders, was how attached to the woman little Amelia was and vice versa. Never had any of them seen Amelia so excited to see someone during the entirety of her stay. None of them have any idea how lucky they are that Amelia's leg healed before Nicky's arrival. Anyways, they'll admit it, they were (ARE!) a little jealous of the two foreigners' bond. The one that was the most jealous, however, was Grey. Amelia had the man rapped around her little finger and he knew it. Did he care? No, because Amelia was like a daughter to him. When she came to Wonderland HE was the one that saved her life, HE was the one that provided her with anything she needed, and HE was the one she mostly clung to when she was upset or happy. He honestly loved having the girl around. She was smart, sweet, and just the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.

When he first saw her, she reminded him of a wounded stray kitten lying on the ground covered in blood. He just had to help her. Then when she didn't want him to put her down, he felt his clock swell a little. Then he felt the need to protect her when she looked at him after he bandaged her leg. She looked so fragile but grateful to him, and then there was that tinny little smile directed at him and him alone. Grey may have been able to resist falling under the child's spell if she didn't thank him. It was so weak, yet full of more gratitude than he had ever heard before. It was at that moment that Grey realized the child had unknowingly trapped him, him a former assassin who would go to the ends of Wonderland to make her smile. Especially, after she talked about her parents for the first time (it pissed him off to no end that the Bloody Twins were the first to comfort her and not him).

So you can understand the smidge (major understatement) of resentment he felt for the baker. Amelia still clings to him or comes to spend time with him every now and then, but now she mostly spends her time with _Nicky_ or those damn twins. Not to mention how much of a bad influence Nicky was for Amelia. But Nicky doesn't give two shits about Grey's opinion of her. After all she's not that big of a Grey fan either. Amelia is her little Amy, has been for over three years. Meaning Nicky will do anything for the girl to keep her happy and safe. Amelia may cling to Grey here, but she has always clung to Nicky.

So yeah, Grey and Nicky love Amelia to the point of hating each other. Envy and protectiveness are amazing things, aren't they? Well anyways, currently Nicky and Grey are trying to cut each other's throats with their glares.

"Well, Grey, considering I'm the only one who knows how to cook, the kitchen is my territory."

"I am quite capable in the kitchen, _Miss. Nichole_. So I would appre—"

"You're 'capable' of creating toxic sludge and bricks that leaves cockroaches running for the fucking hills." That's another thing Grey could not stand. All the insults and cursing were very bad influences for Amelia. He didn't understand why Nightmare did seem as concerned as him. He still refused to listen to Nightmare about Amelia cursing. She was too sweet for something like that (the poor misguided fool). "Now, GET THE FUCK OUT!"

Grey just barely dodged a flying, scolding hot, frying pan that was aimed at his head. Unlike most angry woman, whenever Nicky throws a frying pan at a man, she makes damn sure it's right off the burner. She also had quite the arm and damn good aim. Grey's skills as a former assassin saved him, far more than once, from the woman's deathly precision. He wasn't sure if he appreciated her keeping his skills as sharp as his knives or not, but if she threw one more pan at him...

He ducked a steak knife aimed, once again, at his head. Well, it wasn't a pan this time. That didn't mean he didn't feel his eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

"Uuuummmm Grey, Nicky, why is there a pan burning a hole in the floor and a knife in the wall?" They looked at the door to see Amelia looking between them and the pan, sizzling a hole in the floor, and knife, hilt deep in the wall. They shared a quick death glare before smiling at Amelia as if they didn't so much as share a flicker of dislike for each other.

"Hey Amy, you wouldn't believe it, but the damnedest thing happened. A squirrel came in and tried to make Grey its bitch," Grey glared at the woman, "so to protect his virginity," cue deepening of the glare, "I threw the pan to scare it away, but it didn't work! It clung to the wall and pulled some freaky Exorcist shit and its head started spinning around like crazy! So I threw the knife to save Grey's innocence when it got ready to fuck him with its baby-maker. It escaped out the window, though."

"I KNEW SQUIRRELS WERE EVIL! GREY ARE YOU OKAY?" Amelia threw herself at the man and bombarded him with questions and promises of vengeance. The distinct sound of Nightmare laughing himself to death could be heard from somewhere within the tower. While reassuring the girl that he, in fact, did not need her to hunt down an evil rabid squirrel, Grey glared at the smirking Nicky. Oh, how he wanted to run at least one of his knives through her. Sadly, he knew Amelia would never forgive him if he did so.

"Hey Amy, wanna give me a hand with lunch? We can pack some up and hang with Dee and Dum." Nicky knew just the right buttons to push in Grey. After all, hers were pretty similar. Not the same but close enough.

"Really?!" The amount of excited expectation in Amelia's voice pained Grey.

"Yep!"

"Can Grey help?" Nicky did not like that idea, but apparently Grey did.

"Of course I can Amelia," Grey said happily to the little girl, with a smirk aimed directly at Nicky. At that moment Nicky realized that someone was going to die before lunch was finished, and it wasn't going to be Amelia or her.

"Fine, Grey, start preparing the veggies. Amy, give me a hand with everything else." Amelia hopped over to where the aprons were stashed and pulled two out, a large one and a tinny one. She threw the large one at Grey and started putting the tinny one on herself. Before Nicky had a chance to move, Grey swooped in and tied off the apron for Amelia.

"Thanks Grey!" The child was oblivious to the heated glares shared between the two adults. It's probably for the best. Amelia would have taken advantage of their rivalry in some way if she knew about it. It's also probably for the best that only Nicky knew about that side of the kid, while Grey just didn't want to upset the little girl. It kept them from opening their mouth about not liking each other. "Alright Nicky, what do you want me to do?"

"First, wash your damn hands. I already did and got all the crap we need to make my awesome burgers."

"Sweet! Come on Grey, you have to wash your hands too!" Nicky frowned as Amelia took Grey by the hand and ran to the sink. Grey found the girl's enthusiasm to be endearing. He was also actually surprised that Nicky has the sense to wash your hands before touching food. He gave her a half a point for that, but she was still a bad example. However, that half point became a full one when he saw exactly HOW prepared and organized the woman was when she was about to cook.

The ground beef was in a large bowl, awaiting preparation. The appropriate number of eggs were next to the bowl, a good distance from the counter's edge. The vegetables (carrots, tomatoes and lettuce) were neatly placed by the cutting board and another bowl, waiting chopping/slicing and tearing. Pre-sliced cheese was on a plate by the lettuce bowl. Pre-grounded black pepper, salt, and garlic were awaiting use in small bowls. Freshly baked rolls were cooling in the windowsill. However, he was confused about the carrots, bowls of what appeared to be batter and icing, and the flour lined baking pan by the oven.

"Hey Nicky, are we baking a cake to?" The woman looked at Amelia before smirking and setting the oven to a memorized temperature.

"How else do you expect to distract that identity confused rabbit? You and I both know we won't be able to get Dee and Dum away from that gate unless that Not-Rabbit is sidetracked." Amelia giggled. Okay, Grey had to admit that was good preplanning, but he still detested the woman. She is such a bad influence for his little Amelia.

"Alright Grey, you start turning those carrots into shreds, can't bake the cake till that's done." Nicky cracks the eggs into the beef, "Amy, you're going to add the pepper, salt, and garlic to the meat while I squish them all together." Nodding her head, Amelia got right to work. Grey was a little insulted that he was placed on chopping duty, but smiled when he noted how Amelia was making sound effects while doing her part. So, swallowing his pride, Grey did as the woman commanded. He got yelled at, and had an egg thrown at him, when he didn't make the carrot sheds even. Never before had he realized there was, in fact, a wrong way to cut a carrot. He corrected his "sin" until the shreds reached the woman's approval and added them into the cake batter.

"Now Grey, if you can manage it, mix the batter." Now he really wanted to strangle the woman.

"Don't take it personally Grey. Nicky just takes cooking very seriously. She was the same way with me when I first helped her in the kitchen." He looked at the cheery child flattening raw hamburger balls into odd shapes. Then at the woman taking great care to roll every meat ball, with the exact same amount of meat, and into the exact same rounded shape. When she caught him staring, Nicky glared at him.

"Well? Come on already! That batter's not going to mix itself!" Grey glared back at the woman before silently fulfilling her command. He still got yelled at for not mixing it evenly. There was, apparently, too many carrot shreds clumped in one area. When he corrected that mistake, he poured the batter into the baking pan. He made damn sure it was in there evenly. Surprisingly, Nicky didn't yell at him and told him to carefully stick it in the oven and to set the timer correctly. She emphasized the correctly part. Amelia was giggling the entire time, finding how the two interacted to be hilarious.

"Grey, come flip these burgers while we wash our hands." It appeared only Amelia wanted Grey's direct involvement in the cooking process. Nicky did NOT trust the man anywhere near the food, but wanted to pacify Amelia. She swore that, once her hands were clean again, she was kicking Grey out of her flipping spot before he burned the burgers black. She did just that right after she finished drying her hands. No seriously, she kicked his side as hard as she could to make him move, not even bothering to ask politely. Grey was about to comment before Amelia, now with clean hands, dragged him back over to the vegetables.

"Okay Grey, slice the tomatoes two pennies thin while I tear the lettuce. Make sure they're all that thin or Nicky will yell at you again!" Grey was tempted to test the woman and slice the tomatoes thinker, but wanted to show Amelia his skills with knives. In less than thirty seconds, he had all the tomatoes sliced at the specified thickness. Amelia was impressed, and showed it by her clapping and praise. Grey glowed with pride, glad he amazed the little girl.

"Tsk showoff," grumbled Nicky under her breath. Grey felt his eyebrow twitch, but opted to help Amelia tear more lettuce. Nicky, not liking being shown up by the man, started to tap her spatulas against the stove top and flip them in the air in time with the burgers in a fast beat rhythmic fashion. It achieved the desired effect. Amelia was focused on Nicky again in amazement, paying Grey little to no attention. Grey was not happy with the smirking Nicky.

The woman had balls; any Role Holder would give her that. She also had the ability to piss them all off. Well except Pierce and Elliot. Those two always managed to squeeze their respective favorite cakes or treats out of her with their big sweet as candy eyes and blissfully happy smiles. Anyways, Nicky was successfully pissing Grey off. Every time he had Amelia focused on him, Nicky comes up with some way to gain the girl's attention. Grey was considering, not for the first time, the best way to kill her without Amelia noticing.

He was brought out of his dark thoughts by the sound of a metal spoon hitting the counter top. What he saw made his anger melt into adoration. Amelia pulled a couple of utensils out and was trying to match Nicky's rhythm. He found it funny that, whenever Amelia finally got the hang of it, Nicky would change the rhythm up completely, causing Amelia to glare at her and try harder to match her. The sheer determination in Amelia's eyes was almost too adorable for Grey to take. Eventually, Amelia collapsed laughing the thirty-second time Nicky changed the rhythm. It was just too adorable, so Grey picked the girl up for a hug and chuckled with her.

Nicky pursed her lips at the scene, due to her mixed feelings. She knew the man meant Amelia no harm, in fact she knew how he viewed the child, she just really didn't want to him to accidently hurt Amelia. That was the main reason she butted into their bonding time. Nicky knew for a fact it wouldn't take much to devastate Amelia. It was the reason she didn't like that Alice girl, too damn nosey and always said the wrong fucking things. More than once she had to be held back from ripping the chick's tongue out. If Nicky was honest with herself, she would say she was happy that Grey and Amelia were close. It was her protectiveness that got in the way. Amelia lost her parent, to both death and abandonment; Nicky just really didn't want her to loose what could be another parental figure, or be hurt by one. You really can't blame the woman for giving Grey hell.

So, to break up the hug fest, Nicky threw a burger at Grey's face. For once, what she threw at him hit its target. Amelia burst into a new bout of laughter. When the burger comically slid off Grey's face, you could see the cold glare aimed at the now innocently whistling Nicky, who was nonchalantly flipping the practically done burgers. He wouldn't kill the woman because of Amelia, but he was going to get her back for that one. Looking at the sliced tomatoes, Grey knew it was childish but he picked a few slices up and threw them at the unsuspecting Nicky's head. They hit their target dead on.

The result: Nicky turning off the stove, too quietly for comfort, as Amelia jumping out of his arms grinning and running over to put the burgers on a plate. Before Grey had time to comprehend what exactly was going to happen, he was tackled to the ground by a raging, but surprisingly not PMSing, Nicky. Grey did not like the pleasantly thrilling sensation that wrapped around his body when Nicky got a firm grip on his throat, right over his lizard tattoo. When he couldn't gently get her to let go of him, while she was still on top of him, he wrapped his legs around her waist and flipped their position hoping to disorientate her. Despite the new position, Nicky did not release his throat. She actually tightened her grip. Grey just learned that her killer arm is actually matched by her killer grip. No matter what Grey did, he could not tear her hands from his neck. The tight grip over his tattoo was really NOT helping anything.

So he did the only thing he could, he punched Nicky in the stomach. Once her gripped loosened at the sudden harsh blow, Grey ripped her hands from his neck and pinned them to the ground. Once she realized what happed Nicky got even more pissed. She started struggling like a wild cat, accidentally brushing against an area Grey really wished she didn't. He forced himself to calm down and pinned her legs with his.

During their struggle, neither of them noticed the cake timer go off or Amelia grabbing the oven mitts after turning off the timer. They also didn't notice her taking the cake out of the oven, or her closing it, or her turning it off. They did, however, hear the distant sound of Amelia in pain after she accidentally burnt herself trying to get the cake out of the pan. Snapping their head in her direction and realize she was cradling her hand. Without hesitation they swarmed her and, after seeing the burn, got right to work.

Nicky picked Amelia up and ran her hand under cold water while Grey ran at top speed to fetch burn clean and bandages. Once he got back Nicky gently dried off Amelia's hand and held it out for Grey. He quickly, and gently, rubbed the burn cream on her hand and had it bandaged. Nicky smacked him upside the head after he all but smothered Amelia's hand in the cream and made it look like a giant mitten of bandages. It's amazing how efficiently they could work together when they were seconds away from killing each other just moments ago.

Somewhere in the tower, Nightmare released a sigh. How he wished those two would settle their differences and realize their main "threat" wasn't each other but the Bloody Twins. Dee and Dum have already wormed their way into Amelia's heart, and had the intention of becoming the ones who she falls in love with. They were almost the same age as Amelia and could grow up together. They liked the idea of being her "childhood sweet hearts," as Alice called it. It was almost sad how Nicky's and Grey's constant arguing had allowed for Amelia to become closer to the twins than she probably would have at such a rapid pace. Nightmare smiled, now if only Amelia would stop being so clueless around the twins and the over protective idiots, everyone could live happily.

* * *

So, what do you think? If you have any requests for a one-shot, let me know. I'll do my best to write it.


	2. Smudge Of Dirt

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get done; such a long wait was not my intention, my dear requester. This didn't turn out exactly how I wanted it to, but I hope everyone likes it. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Don't forget readers, if you want to see how Nicky would interact with a role holder, faceless, or Alice, you can leave a request in a review. I will eventually get to it!

Oh and I don't own Joker/Clover/Heart/Diamond no Kuni no Alice, or and of the wonderful characters from the original game/manga/movie. I do own Nicky and Amelia.

* * *

At the Castle of Hearts, Peter was ecstatic. He had recently returned from searching all of Clover Country for Amelia, only to discover she was already at the castle for a visit. His clock ticked and tocked at such an alarming rate as he hopped, more like sored, through the heart themed halls. He felt it to be far too long since their last meeting. When he reached the throne room, he couldn't contain his excitement any longer and slammed the doors open.

"Amelia, my sweet, to see you again is such a trea—" Peter's stream of endearment was cut off by a rather harsh punch to the throat, only seconds after he opened the door to Vivaldi's throne room.

"Rejected, you fucking pedophile," said Nicky in the most deadpanned voice imaginable. Amelia (from her perch on a card soldier's shoulders) and Vivaldi watch the scene before them, highly amused. It's not the first time this particular interaction has taken place, and they know it sure won't be the last. Nicky and Peter had an almost instant detestation between them, after speaking face to face of course. Nicky thought Peter was a pedophile with attachment issues; Peter thought Nicky was a barbarian with an attitude problem. They also didn't like the other's closeness to Amelia, lead to too many conflicts of interests.

Anyways, the three females were preparing to retreat to the rose gardens for tea before the sudden interruption. Being that Vivaldi's strong will appeals to Nicky, and vice versa, the two were on relatively good terms. The only condition, that Amelia begged Nicky to abide by before she even met the queen, was that Nicky should at least try to behave properly around the other woman. So, only because Amelia guilt tripped her into it, she does her best. Nicky has no clue how lucky she is that the queen finds her harsh treatment of Wonderland's male population to be amusing, not to mention highly deserved, and that Vivaldi does not mind the crude language, as long as it's aimed at said population and not during private conversations or her tea parties.

After Peter recovered from the blow, he stood at his full height before Nicky in anger. He glared down at the smirking woman, who was only a very few inches shorter and unintimidated by the rabbit man. In his anger he practically screamed, "You insufferable cad, are you positively mad? How dare you strike me?! I should kill thee!"

"Blah, blah, blah! Learn to shut the fuck up and stop bitching, you pussy assed bitch." Nicky's smirk widened seeing Peter face burn in anger. She knew Peter wouldn't do anything, as long as Amelia was present. Peter would have shot her dead loooong ago if it wasn't for Amelia's strong attachment to Nicky. The little girl made it clear that she would never forgive him if he hurt Nicky; she actually said she would hate him forever if he did. As much as Peter disliked Nicky, the possibility of Amelia hating him made him want to tear out his own clock. So he tried his best to keep his trigger figure in check.

"You tactless wretch, your presence is as peasant as a foul stench!"

"Well, at least I'm not a fucking pansy. Honestly, who the hell has a damn panic attack over a smudge of dirt?!"

"How dare you?! How I wish to render you black and blue!"

"If it's a fight you want, Cottontail, I dare you to fucking bring it! I'll make you my bitch!" Sensing the exaltation of things, Amelia decided she needed to do something to prevent someone from dying, or at least blood for spilling. She was in too good of a mood to have a panic attack. Jumping from her moving seat (the poor soldier had accepted his new role long ago), she ran over to the squabbling adults. She tugged on Peter's coat to get his attention.

"Hey, Peter, can I hold your pocket watch?" At Amelia's seemingly innocent request, Peter gushed like an overzealous parent with a complex. With no hesitation, he handed his watch over to her, which also meant he handed over his gun, which happened to be his only weapon. Nicky and Vivaldi smirked at the child's cunningness. They were so proud!

With the watch, Amelia ran back to her moving seat and stopped in front of him. At the sight of her pointing to the ground expectantly, the card lowered himself on his knees and crouched down low (she had him trained so well). Smiling, the little girl climbed back on her seat's shoulders and held on as he stood up to his full height, which was over six and a half feet (he was the tallest soldier in the palace, making him the perfect candidate for her seat). Vivaldi admired the child's use of her cuteness to control others. Nicky just smirked in pride.

"Okay, now you two can fight!" Peter was confused before he realized what Amelia just did. He blushed and started praising the child for being a little genius.

"Oh, Amelia, that was very clever of you! How impressed I am, you have no clue!" Nicky rolled her eyes at the theatrics. Never in her life has she met someone so over the top, and she's met a LOT of people. While the rabbit man continued his praise, Nicky looked around for something to hit him with. Oh how she wished they were in the kitchen. There are so many useful weapons in that room. Then she noticed the potted plant by the wall and smirked. It'll have to do.

Quietly walking over to the plant, Nicky looked at Vivaldi and saw she was growing increasingly annoyed with Peter as well. Waving her hand, she got the queen's attention. Smirking, Nicky pointed between the potted plant and the excited Peter a few times. When Vivaldi raised a delicate eyebrow in confusion, Nicky pointed at the pot and started making a throwing motion aimed at Peter. At Vivaldi's disapproving look, Nicky silently begged the woman by placing her hands in a preying fashion in front of her face and over dramatically mouthing the word please, which earned an amused chuckle and a nod of approval. Fist pumping, Nicky hurried to grab a generous handful of soil from the pot. She wouldn't throw the pot itself, it looked VERY expensive, and it was just a tad too big for her to lift.

Sharing one last smirk with Vivaldi, Nicky set up for the pitch. She took aim and, just like a professional baseball player, threw the ball of soil at Peter. Hearing rapid movement of wind behind him, Peter turned his head to see what it was. He had no time to even think to dodge. The soil, which would have smashed into the back of Peter's head, hit him square in the face, almost immediately after he turned around. The worst part being, some of it got in his mouth. Peter started freaking out and spitting out clumps of dirt. Nicky fell to the floor laughing.

"GERMS! THERE ARE GERMS ALL OVER ME! I WILL END YOU, JUST WAIT AND SEE!"

"Ooooh the big bad bunny is mad. Yeah, I'm so fucking scared right now," Nicky said, finished laughing and, letting out a sigh, wiped tears from her eyes.

"You are insufferable! Of decency are you incapable?!" Peter wanted to mangle the woman.

"Calm your tits, dumdass." Nicky smirked as she heard Amelia chuckled.

"You vulgar woman, from you, civilized manures ran!" Everyone had to agree with Peter a little on that one, hell even Nicky agreed. But, she didn't care. All she wanted to do was ruffle his feathers, or would it be fur? Eh~ it doesn't matter, the point's clear.

"And from you fucker, every damn woman ran." Vivaldi and Amelia snickered a little there, while the card soldier politely coughed in his hand, remembering Alice's treatment of Peter and who she ended up with. Peter just wished he had his gun back.

"It's not a wonder you are so despised here," Nicky didn't even flinch, "you're too vial for anyone to want to be near." Nicky hummed at what Peter said, nodding her head. She looked up at him.

"Hey Peter, I've got a little rhyme for you to." He raised an eyebrow at Nicky. "Roses are red, violets are blue, I have five fingers and this one's for you." She then proceeded to flip him the bird. Peter's right ear and eye twitched.

"That's enough now White." he looked insulted that he was the only one addressed. "We would like to have our tea party with our guests." Gliding to the door, Vivaldi motioned towards the two other females, and the moving seat, to follow her. Peter just stood red faced as Nicky throw him one last smirk before following the queen, while accepting an offered cloth to wipe off her hands from a random maid that no one originally noticed. After the baker was out the door, Amelia handed Peter back his clock as her moving seat walked past him.

"Don't take what she says to heart, Peter." The rabbit man looks at the smiling child. "Nicky's really nice once you get to know her! Heh~ just give her a chance. I'm really, really sure you two could become friends!" With one last big reassuring smile to Peter, Amelia motions for her seat to start moving again. The rabbit just started gushing over the little girl's cuteness again, not noticing the sly smirk that crossed her face when it was out of his sight.

Amelia knew there was little to no chance of Nicky and Peter getting along, EVER. She just hoped that, with the right nudges, she could watch more entertaining interactions between to two. And, if by some miracle, Peter happened to fall for Nicky, Amelia knew she was going to need a front row seat to Nicky fending off a love struck Peter. The little girl cackled evilly in her head as she was carried to the castle's garden to have tea with Nicky and Vivaldi; no one being the wiser to her scheming.

* * *

I would like to repeat, feel free to make requests. As you can see, I will do my best to complete them.


	3. Where The Fuck Is She

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, Karkatsbabe! I hope you, and everyone else, enjoys the chapter and review! Remember readers; feel free to leave a chapter request in a review if you have one. Hopefully they won't take as long as this one did.

* * *

Its days like this, Nicky thinks she's been too lenient with Amelia. Or, at least, wished she had knocked the evil, conniving, and underhanded part of her personality out. She refuses to acknowledge the fact that she was the one who implanted and nurtured those traits. That fact doesn't matter to her. The fact that does matter is that Amelia is now using those traits against Nicky, and Nicky doesn't like it.

That fact, once again, made itself blatantly obvious as Nicky looked up at the screaming metal death trap before her. The shrieks emitting from it as it descended its deep slops are a mix of joy and gut retching fear. The sounds made her gulp. There are few things that scare Nicky. Rollercoasters and anything else that lifts you high in the air, and drops you down at breath taking speeds, just so happen to fall into that category. It didn't help that the "safety first policy" didn't exist in Gowland's amusement park. In truth, she found any safety policies to be nonexistent before she came here.

Nicky had nearly pummeled Gowland when she first saw the "rides" he allowed Amelia on. She may not have been a mechanic, and didn't know the technical factors involved in construction, but she sure as hell knew a rollercoaster needed seatbelts and shouldn't drop at a ninety-fucking-degree angle! It didn't help that most of the times she saw him, she could never take Gowland seriously. The bright yellow jacket and absurdly adorable animal masks just made it impossible. It never accorded to her that he only wore those masks when Amelia was around. If she knew the reason for them, she would find herself with begrudged respect for the older man. Alas, she doesn't. So Gowland is dubbed the "childish-pedobear" by her.

"Come on Nicky! It's almost our turn to get on!"

"Yeah, hurry up!" Nicky broke from her musing at the sound of Amelia and Boris urging her towards the metal torture device—I mean ride. The two were bouncing in place, barely waiting to get on with excited grins. The baker let out a sigh, and clenched her fists in her pockets, trying to calm herself down. Boris is lucky as hell Amelia likes him so much and that he's a generally good guy, or she'd have skinned the reckless cat by now. It didn't help that, whenever Amelia and Boris were together, they wore almost matching outfits. Her eyebrow twitches, remembering the first time she saw Amelia wearing, the almost the same, one-piece dress version of Boris's outfit. The fake pink tipped purple cat ears only added fuel to the fire. As well as the fact that Boris called HER Amy, Amy and that she called him her big brother. Yeah, the cat boy was VERY lucky. It helped that Dee and Dum were jealous that Amelia called Boris her brother and not them, led to a lot of funny fights.

"Alrighty then~! Please take a seat in an available cart and wait for an employee to fasten you in~!" Right before Amelia could run with Boris to the front cart, a hand stopped her. "I apologize young Miss, but you're too short for this ride." The faceless employee gave Amelia an apologetic look. Amelia just looked hurt and confused. The hurt in her eyes pissed Nicky and Boris off to no end.

"Hey! What's the big deal? She's been on plenty of times before," Boris hissed at the faceless. "Just ask the old man! She has clearance!" The faceless woman flinched and cowered away from the angry role holder.

"I'm sorry but the rules clearly state—"

"Listen here, Amy wants to ride the damn thing, so she's riding it." Nicky's glare caused the park employee to freeze. "END of discussion!" The woman nodded fearfully as Nicky grabbed Amelia's hand and led her to the front cart with a grinning Boris following. Amelia stuck her tongue out at the shaking employee. She loved how her crocodile tears almost always got her what she wanted.

As they took their seats, with Amelia in the middle, Nicky finally realized want she's gotten herself into and slapped her forehead. She just got played and blew her only chance to avoid riding the damn coaster. But, looking at Amelia's smiling face as she talked to Boris about how much fun the ride was going to be, made her "tsk" in annoyance at herself. As long as it makes Amelia happy, Nicky will tolerate a few near death experiences. The woman flinched as another park employee secured her into the cart, and watched closely as he did the same to Amelia and Boris. She let out a sigh, thinking what the worst that could happen?

"All right everyone, please keep your hands and feet inside the ride while it's in motion~! You'd hate to lose them along the way, hehe~!" Nicky gripped her safety device for dear life at what the cheery voice said. Her knuckles turned white, from gripping so tightly, as the ride started to slowly move. Peaking to her left, she noticed Boris bouncing excitedly in his seat with a huge grin on his face. What confused her was that Amelia was oddly quiet as the ride slowly climbed the very high, very steep slope. She got slightly worried when she saw the girl shaking, thinking Amelia was getting scared. However, when she saw the demonically excited smirk that took over the girl's face when they reached the ride's highest point, Nicky felt like pissing herself. That look told her this ride was going to be torture for her.

"Fuck yeah." Nicky heard Amelia quietly say, holding up the rock-on hand sign, as the ride stopped for a second at the tip. And just like that, they were plummeting to earth at an impossibly fast rate. For the next two minutes, all that could be heard throughout Wonderland were the thrilled laughter and cries of "FASTER, FASTER" of Amelia and Boris and the horrified screeches of Nicky begging for the ride to stop. And it did, after going through nine separate loops and six steep drops, both going forward and backwards. When the ride came to a close, it took Boris prying Nicky's hands off the ride to get the petrified woman to let go. Visible indentations could be seen on the safety bar that held Nicky securely into the ride.

Amelia just happily skipped ahead of the teen and the terrified young woman he was supporting. She looked back at them and felt a little guilty for taking Nicky onto the rollercoaster; the woman looked half-dead and like she needed a trash can to bow down to while she emptied her stomach. It almost reminded her of when she, Boris, and Gowland managed to drag Julius on the same ride, only she thought Julius' half-dead look and puking was hilarious. But since this was Nicky, it wasn't as funny. After all, Nicky is to Amelia as Julius is to Ace, only slightly different.

Looking around, the little girl saw a refreshment stand and figure Nicky could use something cool to drink. "Hey big brother," the cat boy look at the little girl, "go find us somewhere to sit. I'll get Nicky something for her stomach." Giving the girl a nod, Boris practically carried Nicky to a pick nick table close to a convenient trashcan. Amelia flinched as she saw Nicky become best friends with said trashcan, all while Boris held back her hair with a disgusted facial expression. Yeah, she wasn't taking Nicky on anymore REALLY big rides for a while, the Tilt-A-Whirl was still happening though. Maybe not right now, but definitely after Nicky's stomach liked her again. As the little girl waited in line, she didn't notice two twin boys spotting her in the crowd and sharing matching devilish smirks.

Dee and Dum came to the Amusement Park with Blood and Elliot for negotiations, which turned into a shootout…again. After the "negotiations" the twins swore they heard Amelia's the thrilled yells, and went to investigate, ditching their superiors. They were very pleased with their findings. Boris was assisting a barfing Nicky, leaving them both too distracted to pay attention to THEIR little sister. Yes, their little sister, not Boris' little sister. She was theirs because they claimed her first; not him, them, so she's not his, she's theirs. The logic made perfect sense in their little, devilish, childish minds. Just like how Amelia figured Peter belonged to her because Mr. Gibblies gave him to her. The rabbit man was her toy in a similar sense to her being the twins' little sister. It was a possessive, childish, selfishness that guided those thoughts.

"You grab her on three and then we make a break for the exit." Dum whispered from around the corner of a game stand. Dee nodded in agreement and transformed into his older form, not taking his eyes off Amelia.

"One…two…THREE!" The next thing Amelia knew, she was lifted into the air by a large pair of hands and was being quickly carried out of the Amusement Park. Blinking in confusion, Amelia looked at her captors and smiled.

"Hi Dee! Oh! And you too Dum! What are you guys doing?"

"We're kidnapping you!" It was Dee who answered with a grin.

"Yeah, Boris and Nicky were hogging you again and we wanted to play!" Amelia just giggled at Dum's reasoning.

"You know you could have just asked to play with us." She would have loved having her four best friends together. They always had a blast!

"No, we only want to play with you, little sis! We're tired of sharing with everyone else!" Amelia blinked in confusion at their words before blushing. She still wasn't used to being friends with people close to her age and still got embarrassed when the twins said those kinds of things. She only figured that's how friends close in age talked and thought as little on it as she could…the poor twins.

"Ughhhhhh…" Nicky looked up from her new best friend and back at Boris before looking around the immediate area. A frown marred her green face. "Oi, cat, where the hell's Amy?"

"Oh, she went to get you a drink. She's right over…" When Boris pointed to the refreshment stand Amelia was at, his words died down.

"Cat, where is Amy?" Nicky's face quickly reverted back to its original color at Boris' panicked face.

"She-she was right there!"

"'WAS'! WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?!" The two quickly shot up from the bench and ran to the stand, ignoring the faceless parents covering their children's ears at Nicky's language. Nicky shoved her way through the line and grabbed the worker by the collar of his shirt. She growled, "Where did Amy go?"

"Wh-wh-who?" The poor man was shaking in fear.

"Little girl, long blonde hair, blue eyes, dressed like this retard," she gestured to Boris, "did you see where she went?"

"Oh! Yes, I remember her! The Bloody Twins took her right when she was about to order!" A dark look took over Nicky's face. She was really getting sick of people kidnapping Amelia, or at least trying to. If it wasn't enemies of the role holders, it was the Jokers. If it wasn't the Jokers, it was Peter. If it wasn't Peter, it was Dee and Dum. Honestly, she wondered how Amelia survived Wonderland before she showed up.

"Dumbass," Boris glared at Nicky's nickname for him when Amelia wasn't around, "we're going to Hatter Mansion. The twins got her." She marched right past the punk teen.

"You know I could teleport us there, right?"

"Last time we did that, we walked in of Blood and Alice getting freaky." They both shuddered at the memory. "I'm not a fan of repeating history."

"It was an accident!"

"Don't care, now move your leather clad ass!" And so, they continued their march to Hatter Mansion, determined to take their Amy from the devilish twins. Though, Boris didn't really mind the alone time with Nicky. He just wished he knew what her issue with him, and the majority of Wonderland's population, was.

When they finally reached the mansion, they walked right through the unguarded gates and straight towards the twins' room. Or they would have marched straight to the twins' room if they didn't hear a commotion coming from the kitchen. They quickly redirected their path. Slamming the door open, they stared at the sight before them with blank expressions.

There was Amelia and Elliot, each sitting on a bound and gagged twin, eating left over carrot cake and surrounded my an assortment of different other desserts. Nicky stomped up to Amelia.

"Hey Nicky, want some-OW!" Nicky swatted the back of Amelia's head, ignoring the heated, muffled protests from the twins. "What was that for?!

"It was for getting yourself kidnapped, AGAIN!"

"But it was just Dee and Dum!"

"That's not the point! You had me and Boris worried sick!" At Nicky's words, Amelia looked down, honestly upset.

"Sorry, Nicky." Nicky really hated how weak she was to Amelia's sad face.

"Yeah, whatever, just try not to let it happen again, got it?" Nicky let out a sigh when Amelia nodded. Glancing at Elliot, she nodded to him in acknowledgment. "Well, at least Elliot's here. I swear he's the only one I can trust to watch your ass." The faint blush on said hare's cheeks and the slight perk of his ears went unnoticed by the other occupants in the room.

"Hey! What about me?!" Boris felt more than a little insulted by her words.

"What about you?" Her face was so blank, and her tone so flat, Boris could only slump forward in defeat. With an uncaring look, Nicky turned away from the sulking cat and walked up to Elliot, patting him on the head. "Thanks for watching her, I really appreciate it."

"It's not a problem at all!" Nicky honestly did not mind Elliot's presence. She could tell he wasn't a treat to Amelia and he liked her baking, two things that earned him a lot of points. It also helped that Amelia viewed him as just a buddy to eat cakes with. They weren't overly close, like Amelia was with Grey, but they weren't on stressed terms, like Amelia was with Alice, either. They were neutral, and Nicky liked that because it meant there was little chance he would accidentally upset Amelia. So, because of that, Nicky decided to give the identity confused rabbit the benefit of the doubt and was pleased that she was rewarded with a good friend.

Amelia watched as Elliot's face brightened when talking to Nicky, the same way Zack's did before he and Nicky broke up, only brighter. The little girl hummed in thought, thinking of all the ways this could entertain her…and possibly Blood. Yeah, she couldn't exclude Blood from this, but she would not let him interfere more than necessary. Ah yes, the wheels in her head started turning as she hid her impish grin by eating a large bite of cake. She wouldn't mind changing Elliot's role from cake buddy to brother-in-law. But, seeing Nicky only looking at Elliot like a buddy, Amelia knew she had her work cut out for her.

Choosing to worry about that later, Amelia looked down at Dee, the twin she was sitting on, and smiled. He looked at her with hope, wanting to be untied. Instead, she grins at him and grabs a slice of grape cake from off the table and takes a large bite, making sure he sees. If it was Dum, she would have grabbed a slice of apple crumb cake and done the same. Amelia just chuckled as Dee whined through his gag. She liked this. She liked having the twin at her mercy and wondered what it would be like if they both were.

Somewhere in Clover Tower, Nightmare felt the distinct urge to flick Amelia's forehead and ban her from going anywhere near the Jokers ever again…He knew that was not a good sign.


	4. AIM FOR THE CLOWN

Author's Note: Please excuse the long wait. I'll try to do better, promise. Life just does not agree with Fanfiction, especially when life includes professors who think their students are there because they live for the subject and love having to turn in a new 6-12 page (single spaced) research paper every week and not because the course fills requirements needed to graduate as soon as possible. Sorry, I'm ranting. Back on topic, I really am sorry for the lack of updates and hope you can forgive me.

I still do not own Joker/Clover/Heart/Diamond no Kuni no Alice, but hope you enjoy and review this chapter.

* * *

"You seem unusually distracted, care to explain?"

"Hm?" Amelia glanced up from her cards to stare at White Joker. "Oh, sorry, what did you say?" He just sighed and placed his cards face down on the table.

"My dear, you are no fun when you're not paying attention to the game." He gave the little girl a disapproving look. "What could be more important than this?" Amelia gave him a blank look.

"Nicky." White hummed at her response, not liking being pushed aside for anyone.

"What the fuck, you little bitch?!" Amelia and White glanced at the little mask Black's voice came from. "If you don't like it here so much, beat it! All you ever do is get in the way!" Amelia just yawned.

"Now Black, be nice to our guest." White lightly chastised his counterpart. "So Amelia, what about Nicky has you so preoccupied?"

"White," she hums, "do you think I'm dumb enough to trust you with anything?"

"HA! Take that you stupid clown!"

"Shush Black."

"Make me you fuc—"

"Royal flush." The Jokers stop their spat to look at the cards lain out on the table. Amelia smirks when she sees White's eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

"Sooooo, about my prize?" His ruby eye looks up at her expecting face.

"Fucking damn it all to hell!"

"Now Black, a deal's a deal. Get up here and give the little miss her prize."

"You're not the one fucking losing anything!" Regardless, Black reluctantly materialized in the circus tent. Amelia grinned at him, looking pointedly at his hat. When he didn't do anything, she made the "give me" hand motion. He growled before ripping off his hat and throwing it at her. She happily caught it and placed it on her head. "How the fuck did I lose when I wasn't even playing?!"

"If you want, you can always play me for it." Amelia smirked at the agitated role holder, collecting the cards on the table. "But you have to give me your whip when you lose."

"How about I give you my foot right up your—"

"Now Black, she is only jesting." Amelia pouted at White. "You should know she just likes seeing your features ruffled."

"Way to ruin my fun." The two amused individuals ignored Black's animalistic growl. It didn't take long for Black and White to notice when Amelia became distracted by her thoughts again. White let out a sigh while Black glared. They haven't been able to trap her. No matter what they tried, she always managed to either be one step ahead, react fast enough to avoid their cell, or escape. Even when they had her she got away. The two role holders really enjoyed their game of cat and mouse, which is way they weren't taking advantage of Amelia's current lack of focus. She was too much fun to merely pluck from her seat. They wanted a challenge. And there's little more challenging than the mind of a mischievous child.

"Amelia," She glanced up at White's voice, "just tell us what is troubling you. I promise we will not use it against you."

"Bullshit."

"Must you talk like my counterpart?"

"…Fuck yeah." Black swatted the back of her head, hard. "OW!" Clutching her head and with a glare, Amelia shot her leg out, nailing the warden right in the baby maker.

"MOTHER OF FUCK!" Amelia smirked down at Black's fetal positioned form. They glared at each other for a moment, before groaning in pain.

"Now children, play nice.~" Both Amelia and Black glared at the grinning jester.

"Fuck you, White." When they realized they said that at the same time, Amelia and Black glared at each other. No one would believe they actually got along.

"AMY!" At the sound of Nicky's voice, Amelia smirked down at Black.

"Nickyyyyy, Black hit me!"

"He did WHAT?!" The little girl put on a teary eyed sad face just before Nicky stormed into the circus tent. Seeing the "crying" Amelia, the baker glared hatefully at the warden, not caring that he was on the ground clutching his crotch in pain. "You son of a bitch!"

With that, Nicky pounced. Black only had seconds to roll on his back and grab the enraged woman's wrists as she attempted to smash his face in. He cocked one knee up in the air, and into Nicky's gut, to keep the woman at a distance. His baby maker was still in pain, but this was a situation where he had to pick and choose his battles. Nurse his bruised balls and be assaulted by a mad (in both senses of the word) woman or let his balls continue to hurt and defend himself from the previously mentioned mad woman. Either way he would be in pain, but the second option had a greater chance of him dealing with less.

White just snickered at his counterpart's dilemma. Turning back to the devious little girl seated across from him, he grinned at her smirk. Ahhh~ he could see the little sadist Wonderland was turning her into. All he had to do was get her over her hemophobia and she'd make the perfect little toy. He found her fear of blood amusing, thrilling even, but Black didn't.

White wanted to use that fear to drive her past the brink of madness, to shatter her completely, to destroy her from the inside out. He almost did to, but his counterpart just had to go and grow a conscious at the last second. The jester mentally frowned at that. He didn't know what changed Black's mind; maybe it was something the child said or the natural power of the foreigner; but White didn't know because he was inconveniently disconnected from Black while they had the girl trapped. Yes, Black found Amelia entertaining, but not enough to torture her anymore. White, on the other hand, was a different story.

"Wanna play another hand?" At Amelia's question, White met her bright blue eyes with his exposed wine red eye. He wanted to uncover his warden's eye, to see everything this child kept locked away and use it to cut away at her sanity. But, looking to the two temperamental individual's fighting in his tent, he knew he had to wait. They knew what he didn't. He knew they knew what haunted the child, what could easily destroy her, and they weren't going to let him know. It infuriated him, but he was patient…when it mattered.

"Of course and the stakes?" White could play nice for now. Watching Amelia look up in thought, White knew the wait would be worth watching her break. Nothing, to him, was better than the shattering of a child's innocence.

"How about, if I win, you give me the mask you use to talk to Black. But, if I lose, you get your pony back." As Amelia said this she pointed to the little mask at White's hip. His eyes narrowed. She was being cheeky now. She won one of his mares earlier in their game, one that was really important to one of his more intricate acts. It both amused and infuriated him that she could make a bet with him that didn't involve her becoming his toy. But, it was in his favor. If he won, he gets his horse back. If he lost, he gives her something he doesn't really need.

"Sounds reasonable." With that, White began shuffling and dealing the cards. The second Amelia touched hers, White's red eye locked on her, taking in any and all movements she made with his lying smile. But, just like every game since the first time they seriously play, there was nothing. No nervous tick, no unnecessary movements, no look of disappointment, and no confident gleam. All Amelia did was lift her cards and stare at them with a blank expression, her poker face. It was the best White ever faced, second only to his own that was an ever-present airy grin. And the reason Black rarely plays bullshit with them anymore. He can't read them and they cheat to the point where the end result is just sad, at least for Black.

Looking down at his hand, White noted he had four of a kind. Looking back up at Amelia, he wondered what she had.

"Want to raise the stakes?" That caught White's attention. Just like the other times they've played, her voice was flat, but her words intrigued him.

"Go on."

"If I win, I also want the wheel for your knife throwing act." Now that caught everyone's attention. Nicky and Black look at Amelia curiously, knowing full well how ballsy she was being. That act was White's favorite. To so much as suggest taking it from the man was risky. They shared a looked and huddled behind the girl to look at her hand. They revealed nothing to the jester as they studied the little girl's cards. White just narrowed his eyes, not caring for the two other adult's actions and wondering what Amelia had up her sleeve, but allowed his grin to widen none the less.

"Alright, but if I win, you must take part in one of my shows." For the first time since the hand was dealt, Amelia looked up at White before looking back to her hand and nodding. And that was when White knew. She was bluffing. Amelia had a crap hand and was trying to psych him out. She never looked up until after the hand was done. He grinned wider. It was time to reveal their cards.

Amelia revealed hers first. White was actually surprised. She had a straight, a good hand. He suppressed a glare, realizing he was wrong. But, his grinned widened remembering he had a better hand. After he showed his cards, Amelia cursed while Nicky kicked a crate.

"Damn it! I really wanted that mask!" Amelia pouted at the cards innocently lying on the table.

Nicky glared at White, "I swear if she gets hurt during the show I will fucking rip off your balls, chop them up into tiny pieces, bake them into scones, and shove them down your throat while I pour salt and whiskey into your wound!" White grinned, purring 'kinky' in his head. Black shuddered in disgust at his counterpart's masochism.

"Oh yeah! I get to be part of the circus now!" She looked at White with sparkling eyes "Can I do acrobatics with Black?" White's eyebrow twitched, now understanding why Amelia agreed to his term so easily. She wanted to do an act…with Black. The jester was actually starting to get jealous of his counterpart. White wasn't blind. He knew the warden was the real reason she still came to the circus and risked becoming trapped by them.

"Sorry my dear, but I already have something planned for you." The jester grinned at the child. Finally, he could use this to his advantage.

"Ah fuck it! Sign me up for something to." All heads snapped to Nicky, who was glaring pointedly at White.

"I-I beg your pardon?" The jester asked flabbergasted. Now that was something no one expected.

"I'm not leaving Amy alone with you for a second. And I know there's not a chance in hell of you letting me in the big top during practice unless I'm part of an act."

"…Do you have any experience in preforming?" White wasn't going to let this opportunity pass. Two foreigners in one show, what luck!

"And he's not talking about on a pole." Nicky glared at Black's comment and swiftly kicked his shin.

Turning back to White she says, "No, but I'm pretty quick on my feet, and am a fast learner." White stared at her for a moment before asking, "How are you when it comes to heights?"

"Errr…I'm good with anything but—"

Amelia laughed, "Nicky'd be great on the tight rope!" White turned to the little girl, staring at her idol with starry eyes. It wasn't long before he was completely exiled from the conversation. Amelia and Nicky kept going back and forth about what act the woman should do, and Black interjected his own crude comments when an opportunity arose. White twitched again, wondering why he was shoved aside so easily. For crying out loud, it was his show!

…

Doing last minute preparations for his latest performance, White could not say he had ever been happier. All his performers were in tip top shape, there were no setbacks or any issues, and…

"I'm going to **fucking murder** that clown for this" And that. That lovely little surprise he discovered that was hiding right under his nose in the form of an angry baker.

"You don't look bad."

"I look like a tramp!"

White smirked to himself, eyeing Nicky in her performing outfit. He couldn't help himself. After finding out that underneath those baggy, highly unflattering clothes Nicky favored was a tight, ample body, he had to have her in one of the most provocative and tight outfits he owned. He honestly didn't understand why she was complaining. He let her wear tights under the halter-topped leotard, and a jester collar to boot. His smirk widened. The ringleader was both sinisterly pleased and disappointed that she wasn't complaining directly to him about the outfit. Pleased because his threat to put her in front of all of Wonderland in lingerie kept her semi-obedient, yet disappointed that it did.

Nicky, in her own right, was seething as she looked at herself in the full-body mirror. In no way shape or form was she comfortable, but she wasn't leaving Amelia alone with White. She was hesitant leaving Amelia alone with anyone really, except Elliot and Julius since they were at least trust worthy. Pierce maybe, but his skittishness could end with him accidently leaving Amelia alone. But, she would rather leave Amelia alone, in the woods for an unknown amount of time changes with **ACE**, than leave her unsupervised in White's care for a half a minute…Yeah, she knew White was a very, very bad man under that charming smile…worse than the perverted, psychopath with a sword…Not for the first time she questioned how Amelia survived Wonderland before she showed up…

"Alright ladies~," Amelia and Nicky turned to White, "Showtime!" He ushered the two to their positions, Amelia being kept right beside him on ground level and Nicky up to the acrobatics platform, where Black was impatiently waiting. Half-way up the ladder, Nicky almost chickened out.

"Can you go any slower," Black yelled down to her, earning a glare. It was his job to keep her from falling to her death since White didn't believe in safety nets. As much as he really didn't want to do it, Amelia bribed him with cake…and cookies…and brownies…He cursed his sweet tooth. Taking his anger out on Nicky, he kept yelling insults at her until she got angry enough to forget her fear, but only long enough to climb the rest of the way up to hit him.

The second after she punched him in the gut, she was stupid and looked down. In the warden's mind, the high-pitched, girly as hell scream the came from her lips was the funniest thing he'd ever heard in his life. Her clinging to his arm for dear life after was just a hilarious bonus. Nicky was too scared to care that Black was laughing at her, trying to focus on not peeing herself.

Amelia looked up towards Nicky and Black with a pout, seriously jealous. She wanted to be up there! She turns to White when he taps her on the head. "Smile, my dear, we're about to start." Taking a deep breath, Amelia smiled to the blacked out audience. Seconds later, the spotlight shined on both her and White, exposing them to the shocked, and horrified, Role Holders and Alice.

Amelia didn't know why White wanted her to be his assistant throughout the show. She didn't even have to practice for their closing act during any of the rehearsals; just learn her cues for when she had to say something. During the entire show she didn't really do anything but a few random tricks when introducing performers, just to do something…and rolling on the ground laughing at Nicky's act. Really, Black was just being mean when he caught her just before she was out of arms reach…every single time. Except for that one time he actually had to use his whip to catch her because he missed her flailing arms.

When her act ended, Black dropped her on top of Elliot, since Amelia bribed him to. He didn't question the child's motives so long as he got his sweets. Nicky, traumatized, unconsciously curled up on Elliot's lap, shaking in fear as she clung to the man. All he could do was rub her back soothingly and try not to stare at her outfit too much. Unlike his boss, he was a gentleman.

Before the little girl could recover from her giggle, two Faceless clowns grabbed her. And, before she knew it, she was strapped to a familiar wheel. Blinking in realization, her eyes met White's ruby red one.

"Oh crap…"

"Indeed!~"

"Karma?"

"Yep!~"

Before the girl could call for help, the wheel started turning. Faster and faster it went until steady thunks could be heard from knives being imbedded into it.

Everyone in the audience watched with baited breath. The wheel was turning to fast for any of them to see where the knives were hitting. But so long as Amelia didn't stop her steady screaming and there weren't any red splatters, there was nothing they could do. Unknown to White, the color in Amelia's face changed twice since the closing act was revealed. From her heathy, peach tone, to fearful white, to sickly green. The more the wheel turned, the greener she got.

When the wheel finally stopped turning, Amelia's head didn't. Nicky stared at her worried. She turned to the man she was sitting on. "Can you get me down there? Something's wrong."

Seeing the look in the woman's eyes, Elliot nodded and started moving. Unfortunately, before they could reach the little girl, White already started to pull his knives free. The man didn't notice the girl's expression, so he wasn't expecting the sudden shower…of barf. The man froze in place, twitching momentarily at the smell.

All was silent until realization hit everyone and the tent exploded in laughter. White's anger could be seen swirling around him. He was lost in it just long enough for Nicky and Elliot to reach the sick from dizziness girl and free her from the wheel. Securing the girl in her arms, Nicky made a break for the exit, Elliot at her heals.

"I'M GOING TO KILL HER!" Nicky yelped when Elliot urgently scooped her and Amelia up in one arm while firing warning shots at the enraged clown hot on their tails who was throwing knives at them. Frankly, the laugher didn't stop, even the warden was dying from it. The entire scene was just too funny for any of them (aside from a hyperventilating Alice) to take. It was easily the most memorable performance the circus ever had.

"ELLIOT, FOR ALL THAT IS HOLY, FUCKING RUN MAN!"

"GET THAT LITTLE BRAT BACK HERE!"

"Nicky, I-I don't feel good…"

"SHIT! AIM FOR THE CLOWN, AMY!"


End file.
